Container for eggs or the like



Dec. 30,1969 o. DONALDSON 3,485,678

CONTAINER FOR EGGS OR THE LIKE Filed Feb. 26, 1968 GEE ,34

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United States Patent 3,486,678 CONTAINER FOR EGGS OR THE LIKE David Donaldson, Wilmington, Del., assignor to Container Corporation of America, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 26, 1968, Ser. No. 708,360 Int. Cl. B65d 85/32 US. Cl. 2292.5 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A container is formed from moldable material and has substantially rectangular top and bottom sections hingedly interconnected along the rear edges thereof, while the front edges of the sections are provided with locking means for releasably locking the container. The bottom section of the container has a plurality of identical, substantially cupshaped, cells having integral side and bottom walls and being adapted to receive similar articles, such as eggs, of slightly varying sizes and contours. Each of the cells has a plurality of inwardly projecting ribs spaced about the interior of the cell and extending upwardly from the bottom wall thereof. The ribs provide positioning of articles in such a way so that articles of certain sizes and contours will be engaged and supported by the ribs to prevent movement of said articles within the cells, while articles of other sizes and contours will be supported by the side wall of the cell without being engaged by the ribs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to containers for articles, such as eggs or the like, and, more particularly, to containers for articles, such as eggs, wherein articles of slightly varying sizes and contours can be successfully packaged.

The prior art The containers known in the art and used in presentday packaging industry for packaging such articles as eggs, are primarily designed for a specific size of an article. Therefore, a different container must be utilized for packaging medium eggs as compared with extra large-eggs. Since articles, such as eggs, vary not only in weight but also in contours, so that to properly package short-fat and long-pointed eggs, different containers are necessary.

The container of the present invention overcomes the disadvantages known in the prior art and provides an effective container for articles, such as eggs, of varying sizes and contours. Thus, eggs may be packaged in the same container regardless of their weight or contour.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Generally, the container of the present invention is formed from moldable material and has substantially rectangular top and bottom sections hingedly interconnected along the rear edges thereof while the front edges of the sections are formed with locking means for releasably locking the container. A plurality of identical, substantially cup-shaped cells, having integral side and bottom walls, are formed in the bottom section of the container and are adapted to receive similar articles of slightly varying sizes and contours. The interior of each of the cells is formed with tapered, inwardy projecting ribs spaced about the cell and extending upwardly from the bottom wall thereof. The ribs permit positioning of the articles in such a way that articles of certain sizes and contours will he engaged and supported by the ribs to prevent their movement within the cells, while articles of other sizes and contours will contact the .side walls of 3,486,678 Patented Dec. 30, 1969 ice the cell and be supported thereby without being engaged by the ribs.

DRAWING SPECIFICATION While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawing and will herein be described in detail, an embodiment of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawing, more particularly to FIGURE 1, there is shown a unitary container, generally designated 10. The container may be formed from moldable material such as plastic, pulp, or the like. The container has a top section 12 and a bottom section 14 which are hingedly interconnected along the rear edges thereof at a hinge line 16, as shown in FIGURE 3. Locking means 18 are formed on the front edges of the top and bottom sections for releasably locking the container.

A plurality of identical, substantially cup-shaped cells 20 are formed in the bottom section 14 of the container. The cells have integral side and bottom Walls, designated 22 and 24, respectively. As best seen in FIGURES 1 and 2 the individual cells are interconnected by integrally formed connecting members 26 for providing stability to the container.

Since all of the cells have identical construction, a detailed description of only one cell 20 will be presented herein with the understanding that the structural details of one cell apply to all cells of the container.

As best seen in FIGURES l and 2, the exterior of the cell 20 is formed with a plurality of tapered grooves 28 which extend upwardly from the bottom wall 24 and intersect the same while projecting into the interior of the cell thereby forming corresponding, interior, inwardly projecting, hollow ribs 30 of inverted V cross-section, best seen in FIGURES 3 and 4. The ribs 30 are spaced about the interior of the cell and are in engagement and integrally formed with the side wall 22 of the cell. The ribs extending upwardly from the bottom wall 24, their lower portions intersecting the bottom wall.

As viewed in FIGURE 4, the upper edges of individual cells 20 are joined by inward projections 32 of the heretofore described connecting members 26. The inward projections are interconnected by a cross-like connector 34.

It has been found, that to provide the highest degree of versatility for the container and the safest packaging of articles, such as eggs, therein, the ribs should be made to extend upwardly along the side wall 22 a distance equal to at least one-third of the depth of the cup-shaped cell 20.

In utilizing the container of the present invention for packaging, for example, eggs, a medium sized egg will be engaged by the ribs 30 and will be cushioned and stabilized thereby to prevent its movement within the cell 20. Long-pointed, large or extra large eggs will also be engaged by the ribs but the point of engagement will be closer to the bottom wall 24 of the cell as compared with the point of engagement of the ribs with medium sized eggs. Short and fat eggs will not be engaged by the ribs but will contact side wall 22 of the cell and be supported thereby to prevent its movement within the cell 20. Thus, while the inwardly projecting ribs cushion and stabilize eggs of certain sizes and contours, they still permit utilization of relatively large cell bottom wall 24 and girth large enough for eggs of various sizes and contours to be successfully packaged. Since the ribs are so designed that the thickness of the plastic, or other material, forming the ribs decreases in the upward direction so that the thickness of the rib is greater at the bottom of the cell than at the top of the rib, a variation in the size of the contact area between the ribs and eggs of various sizes and contours is provided.

In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 3, phantom lines 36, 38 and 40 represent contours of eggs of difierent sizes and contours and show their positioning within the cell 20.

The exterior grooves 28 described heretofore, increase the vertical stacking strength and stability of the container 10.

I claim:

1. A unitary container, formed from moldable material and having substantially rectangular top and bottom sections hingedly interconnected along the rear edges thereof and locking means formed along the front edges of said sections for releasably locking the container, comprising:

(a) a plurality of identical, substantially cup-shaped cells formed in the bottom section and having integral side and bottom walls and being adapted to receive similar articles of slightly varying sizes and contours;

(b) each of the cells having at least three exterior, tapered grooves extending upwardly from the bottom wall of the cell and projecting into the interior of the cell thereby forming corresponding, interior, inwardly projecting, hollow ribs having an inverted V cross-section with the thickness of the rib being greater at the bottom thereof than at the apex of the V;

(c) the ribs being spaced about the interior of the cell and extending upwardly from the bottom wall a distance equal to at least one-third'of the depth of the cell for positioning the articles in such a way so that articles of certain sizes and contours will be engaged and supported by the ribs to prevent movement of said articles within the cells, while articles of other sizes and contours Will be engaged and supported by said side wall without engagement by said ribs.

2. A container as defined in claim 1, wherein said grooves intersect the bottom wall of the cell.

3. A container as defined in claim 1, wherein said ribs intersect the bottom wall of the cell.

4. A unitary container, formed from moldable material and having a substantially rectangular top and bottom sections hingedly interconnected along the rear edges thereof and locking means formed along the front edges of said sections for releasably locking the container, comprising:

(a) a plurality of identical, substantially cup-shaped cells formed in the bottom section and having integral side and bottom walls and being adapted to receive similar articles of slightly varying sizes and contours;

(b) each of the cells having a plurality of interior, in

wardly projecting hollow ribs of an inverted V crosssection and being of greater thickness at the bottom than at the apex of said V;

(c) said ribs being spaced about the interior of the cell so as to intersect portions of a relatively large bottom wall thereof and to extend upwardly along said sidewalls of the cell whereby relatively thin, elongated articles positioned in said cells will be engaged and supported by said ribs at the points adjacent the intersection thereof with said bottom wall and by said bottom wall.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS DAVIS T. MOORHEAD, Primary Examiner 

